Movie Reviews:

Occasionally, I review movies. I tend to share the newest viewings, which can mean current theatrical releases. Just as I can’t read all the romance books out there, I can’t watch all the romantic movies. Readers are welcome to share their movie opinions through the submission form outlined earlier.

Interviews:

There are several types of interviews at Love Romance Passion. The first is the author interview, which you see the most of around here. Another form of the author interview is the Kiss and Tell blog series. Any romance or erotica author may submit an article to it by emailing me. Lastly there are the Between the Sheets interviews with professionals related to the romance industry, but aren’t necessarily authors. So far Love Romance Passion has featured model and audio book narrator interviews; we would love to have you too!

Guest Bloggers:

Many guest bloggers here at Love Romance Passion are authors. I love having them here and I hope you do as well. I am always looking for guest bloggers, and you don’t have to be an author to contribute.

Reader Highlights:

LRP highlights readers every Sunday. They are bloggers, commenters, guest reviewers, and more. Check them out and learn some fun and cool things these ladies love about their romance.

Forum:

Love Romance Passion also has a forum for readers, authors, and bloggers. This tucked away feature deserves some attention! You can register here. Currently offline as interest seemed to be small.

Book Store:

This is an ebay run book store that helps readers find romance books in print and audio format. It’s also a great way to contribute a little towards the running of this site.

LRP’s Best:

LRP’s Best is where I pull from regular circulation, the blog posts I find most interesting and fun to share with new comers and regulars.

On Youtube:

Love Romance Passion’s Youtube channel. I hope to use this feature to share with everyone videos from guest bloggers, authors, readers, and more. If you make a video and want it to appear on LRP’s channel upload file to http://www.mediafire.com/ and email me the link.

On Twitter:

I am on twitter. I share links to contests and articles I am reading and enjoying from other blogs. You can find me at reviewromance.

It’s a pleasure to be here today on Love Romance Passion! Thanks so much for having me. Since my upcoming book was inspired by Shaw’s Pygmalion (and the movie, My Fair Lady), I’ve decided to compare my heroine, Summer Wine Lee, to Eliza Doolittle.

First, a little bit about My Unfair Lady. Raised in a Wild West mining town, Summer knows she’s an unacceptable bride for her fiancé’s knickerbocker family. So she goes to London to hire a sponsor to turn her into a lady. The Duke of Monchester reluctantly takes on the task, and Summer’s penchant for carrying a knife in her boot, picking up stray animals, and not knowing the least thing about acceptable polite society, makes his job difficult. When the duke starts to fall in love with her just the way she is, it becomes nearly impossible. But they are both determined—even when things get more complicated when it becomes clear that someone is trying to kill the duke.

There are a few similarities between Summer and Eliza. They are both products of their environment, their speech and mannerisms determined by where they were raised. Eliza in the East end of London, with her cockney speech and crude behavior. Summer in the untamed west, with her uncultured speech and masculine pursuits. They both have indifferent fathers, men who are more concerned with their own happiness and pursuits than they are with their daughters’. But in Summer’s case, she wants to become a lady, and Eliza was pretty much bullied into it. Summer couldn’t be bullied into anything. But I think this aspect of their character is also a product of their environment. Eliza is a product of the Victorian attitude that men are superior persons. That their needs are more important than a woman’s. Whereas, Summer pretty much raised herself. She made her own rules, and although her father’s opinion is important to her—perhaps too much so—in her every day life she’s used to making up and following her own rules. Because of this, I have a tendency to think of Summer as more similar to Annie Oakley. A girl who can compete in a man’s world. Who can ride and shoot and fight with the best of them.

Although Eliza has compassion, I think this is one of Summer’s strongest traits. Especially her compassion for injured animals. She picks up quite a menagerie, which provides for some humorous moments in My Unfair Lady, and also allows us to glimpse Summer’s fears and insecurities.

The way Summer interacts with men is different from the way Eliza does, as well. Summer trusts her instincts, knows a good man when she sees one, despite what persona he chooses to reveal to the rest of the world, and acts accordingly. She doesn’t fear men, doesn’t see them in the role as her protector, or her superior. She considers herself an equal and treats them accordingly. I think this allows her to see beyond the surface of a man, and in many ways, get closer to him on a more equal footing. Eliza never views herself as an equal to Henry Higgins, even after she is successfully transformed into a lady. Perhaps this is why there is no happily-ever-after for the two of them. And why the author left it open as to whether she goes off with Freddie, or stays with Higgins.

This is why I love writing romance.

In My Fair Lady, Eliza does come to respect and stand up for herself. Summer has always done so. But in many ways, I think Eliza is more accepting of her true nature. Summer has a long journey before she even begins to understand herself. And her hero is going to help her toward that realization, not bully her into it.

I hope you enjoy the journey that Summer must make in order to finally become the person she truly wants to be. I’ll be checking back in throughout the day for comments, so please take a moment to say hello.

Wishing you happy reading,

Kathryne

My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy—in stores December 2009!

He created the perfect woman…
The impoverished Duke of Monchester despises the rich Americans who flock to London, seeking to buy their way into the ranks of the British peerage. So when railroad heiress Summer Wine Lee offers him a king’s ransom if he’ll teach her to become a proper lady, he’s prepared to rebuff her. But when he meets the petite beauty with the knife in her boot, it’s not her fortune he finds impossible to resist…
For the arms of another man
Frontier-bred Summer Wine Lee has no interest in winning over London society—it’s the New York bluebloods and her future mother-in-law she’s determined to impress. She knows the cost of smoothing her rough-and-tumble frontier edges will be high. But she never imagined it might cost her heart…

Kathryne Kennedy is the author of the Relics of Merlin series, acclaimed for her world-building and best known for her historical paranormal romances. She has also written a fantasy romance and this Victorian historical romance. She has also published nearly a dozen short stories in the SFF/Romance genre, receiving Honorable Mention twice in the “Writers of the Future” contest. She has traveled a great deal and has lived in Guam, Okinawa, and several states in the U.S. She is a business owner and currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons. For more information, please visit http://www.kathrynekennedy.com/

Today, you might be curious to know, is Miranda Otto’s birthday. She’s the Australian actor who played Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings.

I’m a huge The Lord of the Rings fan – I’m one of those strange people who reads the book once a year from cover to cover. Well, I used to. Now, I trek through the extended Director’s Cut of the movie every year around Christmas time with anyone in my family who’s mad enough, or who has enough spare time to sit through the twelve to fifteen hours it takes to watch all three movies with meal breaks and repeats of the really good scenes.

I really like my fantasy stuff. Surprisingly, The Lord of the Rings is about the only high fantasy I like. The rest of it I prefer in real time – a.k.a. urban fantasy. I like the way high fantasy characters play off against shopping malls, city streets and common everyday situations we all know and deal with ourselves. It gives context to the characters and situations we meet in new fantasy and a way of instantly orienting ourselves in a new fantasy universe, which is one of the biggest headaches about high fantasy. I don’t actually enjoy having to learn a new language and a dozen different character names, race names, and a twelve letter word for something that is just a knife, in the end. I’m more interested in the way the characters interact with each other and how the plot moves forward.

For the same reason I like including a decent romance in my own urban fantasies, one that includes the sexual side of the romance. As I wrote here on Love Romance Passion on November 24, we’re all sexual creatures in the end…it’s natural to include that side of our natures.

I’m at the end of what ended up being a surprise tour, and a surprisingly long book tour for not one, but two, books – the last two books in the Destiny’s Trinities series for Ellora’s Cave. I’ve been honoured by Love Romance Passion to not only start the tour here (November 24) but also to end it here. I started here when Mia’s Return was released and I end the book tour here as more or less as Sera’s Gift has been released (December 9). I thank them for the double dates and hosting me. Having a loud erotic urban fantasy author on the premises can’t be easy!

_______________

Mia’s Return

Ten years ago, Alexander hungered for Mia Menendez and for a single day they had indulged that passion before tragedy struck. Now Mia is back, but she thinks Alexander died ten years ago and no man has been able to stir her heart since. The truth could kill her.

Wyatt Whitacker, demon hunter, hates Alexander and all his kind. But one look at Mia and her pulse-stopping curves and his scarred, angry heart begins to melt and his body to rouse in ways he’s long forgotten.

The bonding has begun…

___________

Excerpt

Mia found the Starbucks he’d directed her to without trouble. By the time she reached it, the snow was falling heavily, making everything muffled except the traffic, which was a constant even in the snow. Even though it was barely six the night was dense, still and silent.

He was sitting in a big wingback chair and she was unable to believe he’d actually kept his word. After she’d hung up she’d realized that he could have agreed to meet just to get her off the phone and she’d fallen for it because she was so green at this sort of thing.

But he was here and she didn’t know whether to kiss him, or crawl into his lap. So she sat in the other chair and put her hands on the table to still their trembling. “You don’t have to tell me what happened,” she said. “But I do want to say I’m so glad that what I thought happened ten years ago, didn’t.”

There were too many people too close to them for her to speak of it more plainly.

Alexander tilted his head to one side. “So am I.” He gave an awkward smile.

She stared at him, at his wonderful blue eyes. “God, you look so good,” she said wonderingly. She reached out to touch his face and his hand covered hers as she cupped it. Warmth, heat…and he was trembling too. She pushed her hand so that her palm brushed over his lips, inviting a kiss. His lips seared her palm and his hand stilled her wrist, keeping her hand steady so that his tongue could swirl over her palm. His eyes speared into her as he did it.

She gasped, her nerve endings sizzling to life, her clit pounding with energy. “Oh my god,” she whispered. “No one but you has ever been able to do that to me.”

Alexander lowered her hand and began to stroke the inner wrist. Little delicate strokes that made her toes tingle and curl and her pussy grow moist. “No one?” he said, with a smile.

“No one,” she said flatly. “Alex, can we go somewhere? Your place? Even just for a while?”

He reached over and drew her bangs out of her eyes. “In ten years, you’ve had a string of miserable lovers who’ve all failed to take care of you?”

“Alexander.”

He sat back and she could see that he had given up trying to avoid her question. He looked at her directly. “I can’t take you back to my apartment,” he said simply.

“A hotel then,” she said. “Mine.”

He looked out the window at the falling snow.

“What is it I’m missing?”

“What is it you’re not telling me?” He looked at her.

She could feel her cheeks heating. “Specifics then. I’ve had two lovers since you, Alexander. Both of them total disasters. No man so much as raises my pulse. Except you.”

She could see his breath shorten beneath the overcoat as he stared at her. “Christ,” he whispered, looking stricken.

“Is it too much to ask for a night, Alexander?” she added gently.

“There are things you don’t know about me,” he said.

She almost laughed. “Worse than before?” What she had not known in San Diego had got him a bullet in the head…or almost had. What could possibly be worse?

“These things could kill you,” he said softly. “I’d rather you live.”

He was trying to tell he wouldn’t give her the night she so desperately craved. Disappointment flared in her like a thousand fire ant bites. Suddenly she needed to move, to be away from all these people that were lapping up her rejection like the day’s soap opera installment.

“Can we at least walk?” she said, trying to blink away her tears.

“It’s safer here. Among people,” he said cryptically.

There was to be no relief, no softening of the rejection. She averted her head and staggered from her chair, out of the store and into the muffling quiet of the snow, letting it enfold her. Across the road was the park. Dark, quiet and lonely. Away from everyone who had witnessed her humiliation.

She ran.

* * * * *

Alexander ran after her, dismayed at her reaction and alarmed at her direction. There were plenty of human predators in Central Park as well as vampeen drawn to his vampire traces.

She was just ahead of him and Central Park had lights along the paths. He caught up with her quickly and grabbed her arm. She was crying silently.

He pulled her to one side, onto the snow-covered grass, their boots kicking up the thin layer. He wiped her tears. “Don’t,” he said softly.

“What else should I do? I’m out of options.” Her voice was thick with more tears.

He remembered when her voice was husky with lust rather than tears and his body tightened, strumming with that remembered moment. Why was he refusing her now? He could go back to her hotel room, fuck her until she was spent, that was all she asked for. There would be no complications. What was stopping him?

Because he knew he wouldn’t have the strength to let her go in the morning. Diego could do it. But he had been doing it for centuries and had a powerful motive to keep him moving from one woman to another, over and over again.

Alexander knew he could not.

He realized he was staring into Mia’s eyes and she was holding her breath, waiting for him. He was holding her to him and she had felt his tension, felt his ramrod stiff cock against her. She knew as well as he did that everything he’d said in the coffee shop was a pretext and that this moment was the real one.

He kissed her and it was like kissing honey and peaches. He swept his tongue into her mouth, tasting her sweetness, while his hands slid inside her coat, under her clothes and found her flesh. She was guiding him, as frantic as he and he groaned as his hand found the swell of her breasts, bereft of a confining bra.

She cried softly, arching hard against him, her pelvis grinding into him. His cock was throbbing now, his balls aching with growing tension.

“More,” Mia whispered. Her hand was on his wrist, guiding it under her skirt. He found the stop of her stockings—stockings! His heart fluttered—and smooth thighs, then lace panties, moist with her juices. It gave him an erotic charge to realize she was aroused enough to soak through her panties. He slid his fingers under the edges of them and found the heated lips of her pussy and pushed inside. She clenched around him, as she gasped, her hands clawing at his shoulders.

“Harder,” she whispered.

“You know, I can smell your woman’s scent from here,” came a drawled comment from behind him.

Alexander felt his animal instincts go into overdrive. He disengaged from Mia and whirled, reaching for the Glock. He pushed Mia behind him, his incisors trying to descend. He fought to tamp down his instincts and ride them out until he had the measure of the situation.

Alexander had been so caught up in Mia’s body that he’d failed to notice the man’s approach. “Move on,” he told him. “The gun is loaded and I’m not afraid to use it.”

The man laughed. “That so?” He moved closer, reaching into his jacket and withdrew a long, strangely curved knife. “I don’t need to load this and I’m not afraid to use it, neither.”

Then Alexander caught sight of the man’s eyes in the lamplight and became afraid. They were all black. No irises, no whites. Nothing but black. Evil eyes.

The man sprang with a sideways leap that looked animalistic. Alexander shot him three times, directly in the chest. It dropped him to the ground and if he had been human it should have killed him instantly. But the creature simply stood up and shook it off.

“Oh my god, Alex…” Mia whispered.

Alexander handed her the Glock. “Just keep shooting at it,” he said. “There’s twelve more bullets in the gun and they slow it down at least.”

“What about you?” she said.

He triggered the armguard and gripped the knife as it jumped into his hand. Mia’s eyes got very large. He was going to have to explain things later. Or invent things.

The creature came at him and he shoved Mia behind him again and swiped. He nearly decapitated the creature and it barely slowed it down.

Running footsteps from his right. Alexander didn’t bother looking. Friend or foe, he couldn’t afford to look. But the creature did and howled in frustration.

“Yeah, you fucking prick. Your time is up.”

The creature turned to face the newcomer and threw his hands up across his face. Alexander looked just in time to see the other man bring a shotgun to his shoulder and fire.

The shot was muffled, not explosive but the creature fell to the ground, writhing and kicking. The man fell on top of it and buried a black knife in its chest. With a black cloud of smoke, the creature disappeared, leaving oily plumes of black fumes tracing an outline of where it had lain.

The man stood up, dropped the black knife back into his coat and brushed off his hands. He was about five foot eleven, which put him only an inch shorter than Alexander but he seemed shorter because of the width of his shoulders. He was very thick across the chest and shoulders and the heavy winter-lined denim coat just exaggerated them. His black hair was once short and tidy but hadn’t been trimmed for a while. In the dim glow from the park lights it glinted blue-black. He looked at Alexander with angry black eyes that reminded him of Diego. “You’re a fucking vampire,” he said in disgust.

Mia, Alexander thought and winced.

“Only reason I don’t cut your heart out on the spot is because we’re not supposed to these days. Can’t believe you’re the good guys now. Fuck.” He picked up the shotgun. “Can’t you tell a demon when it’s coming at you, for chrissake?”

“That was a demon?” Alexander was stunned. “What did it want with Mia?”

“How the fuck would I know? It’s been in the Jersey area for three days, then suddenly veered toward New York yesterday like it had a noose around its neck. What is she? Something special?”

“You’re a hunter,” Alexander concluded.

“No shit,” the man said.

“Oh, I think I’m going to be sick,” Mia muttered.

Alexander whirled. Mia was bent over, her hands on her knees.

_____________________

Sera’s Gift by Teal Ceagh

Letting go is sometimes the only gift love has left to give.

Release date: December 9, 2009

ISBN 9781419925511
____

Sera arrives in New York to help Lindál, but a vampeen attack brings her face to face with two men and changes her life forever.

Diego Savage lives up to his name. Cynical, rebellious and a womanizer, he doesn’t believe in the trinities at all. Only a handful of people know the truth about his scarred heart and terrible past, and it would take a miracle for him to change. A miracle, or someone like Sera with her special gift.

Blake Harvey, dedicated NYC police lieutenant, takes one look at the tall, supple woman with the crystal blue eyes and glowing skin and knows his life is about to change in ways he can’t even define, but his body is already responding to with a power that is hard to deny.

The bonding has begun…

_____________

Excerpt.

“Lieutenant!”

Blake jumped and realized he’d fallen asleep in his chair, the same moment he realized it was morning already. He glanced around at his office door. Anna Maria had her head around the door, looking at him. “You clocking off?” he said, glancing at his watch. Six a.m. Her night shift was over.

“You okay, boss?” she asked.

“Long night,” he said, trying to make it sound like he did this all the time. He stood up, stretching carefully, feeling the bones in his neck.

“’Kay. Night, boss.” She let the door shut itself.

He looked out the window. Daylight was trying to break through thunderclouds outside his windows. A soggy, fetid, miserable August day that matched his mood. He glanced at the three in-trays on his desk, all of them overloaded. They stood next to his computer, which was another two hundred and sixty gigabytes of hell screaming at him for attention.

What was happening in his city? Twelve years in the department and he no longer thought he understood New York and its denizens. He’d spent all night doing basic regression analysis. And the numbers frightened him. If things went on this way, New York would turn into an uncivilized all-out crime zone in about six weeks. The police department was slowly losing ground. It just didn’t have the numbers to cope. Rape and murder were the top two favorites, with decapitations being numero uno on the hit parade. But number three on the New York Times Best Seller List right now was Missing Persons. People were vanishing without trace in numbers higher than six hundred percent more than any time in the last three centuries…and that included two world wars, famines and plagues.

And the police couldn’t do a damn thing about it, except record particulars and wait. They were overtaxed by the murders and rapes already. A missing person was a lesser concern.

Blake pushed his hand through his hair. God, what a fucking nightmare.

The other lieutenants in the other departments across the boroughs made light of it. They were mostly older and had seen tough times before and while they all heard the same unsettling rumors about the cults, the gangs, the animalistic behavior, they were in denial. They didn’t want to look at the big picture.

The figures Blake had projected last night didn’t lie, though. Something was going on. But right now he couldn’t see what it was. Despite all the information flowing into his desk, it eluded him. Sometimes, like now when his energy was low, it felt like there was someone else out there manipulating the information that reached him, so that he couldn’t see the truth. Not all of it, anyway.

He bumped his forehead against the window and felt the chill spread across his flesh. It reminded him of how hot and tired he was. He’d been in these clothes for over twenty-four hours. He needed a break. So did his mind. He was slipping into paranoid delusions.

He picked up his jacket and logged off the computer. A few hours sleep, a shower and food, then he’d head back here. Things would look different, then. Maybe.

He clocked out and walked home to his apartment, feeling at odds with the day. Manhattan was just firing up for a busy day of commerce, while he was going home to sleep. He glanced up at the skyscrapers as he passed them. It all looked so innocent and normal.

Who’d’ve thought there was such a time bomb ticking away in her guts?

* * * * *

When Mia came bustling into the boardroom, Alexander felt his heart jump. Even after a year, she still managed to make him pause to catch his breath when she arrived after a small absence. She was here in his life. And she was never going away again.

He kept reminding himself to be thankful to whatever entity or force designed the trinities and chose him to be part of them. Him, Mia and Wyatt. How had he got so lucky? He was careful never to question that good fortune, but to grasp it with both hands and to work his ass off in service of the trinities and Seaveth, in gratitude.

Mia came up to him with the small smile she kept for him and Wyatt alone. “You’re brooding,” she said.

“Guilty.”

“I’ll shake you about it later,” she said. “Right now, we need to head to the keep for the assembly. The car is waiting.” She looked at the huge watch on her wrist. “And Wyatt still hasn’t shown up. Did he call you at all?”

“No call. No text. But he knows he has to be here. He’ll show, Mia. In a year, has he never not shown up for an assembly?”

“There’s always a first time,” she said darkly, thumbing through her Palm Pilot. She had become the staffing agency’s chief executive officer and completely indispensable, running both the private and public personas of the agency like clockwork and liaising with the Earthwing clan’s seniors and Seaveth’s portfolio with seamless efficiency.

Wyatt had returned to hunting but even there, Mia had left her mark, organizing and commercializing his ventures and bringing recruits to his doorstep. Now Wyatt’s hunting was an organized trade, with tools, equipment, partners and income. Wyatt had been stunned that demon hunting could raise revenue in a human world but Mia had shown him how to bring in profit for himself and make it attractive to other demon hunter and vampire investors and just like that, Wyatt had found himself an entrepreneur.

Mia glanced at her watch again. “Time to go. I’ve texted Wyatt and told him to go straight to the keep.” She chewed her lip. “I hope he’s okay.”

Alexander took her face in his hands. “He’ll be fine,” he said softly. “Stop it, Mia.” He kissed her to stop her fretting and slipped his tongue against her lips. He drew back when he tasted blood. “You just fed?”

She blushed. “Sorry, yes. I should have warned you.” This was one of the changes he’d had the hardest time accepting. As a result of the bonding, from time to time, Mia had to feed on blood, like a vampire. She ate normal food and excreted it like a human but every few months or so, like a vampire, she hungered for blood. Alexander had been devastated by the knowledge. Instead, Zachariah and the other vampires had taught Mia how to ingest the artificial blood developed by the clan.

“Damn, yes.” She straightened her business skirt back into place and threw him a dirty look. “I wish you would stop kissing me at work. You know I hate that.”

“While I can make you look like a cat on catnip, I’ll keep kissing you whenever you’re within reach,” Alexander growled softly as they hurried through the office to the elevator bank. The armored stretch limousine would be waiting for them in the lower basement. Max, the driver and one of the Earthwing clan, would have the engine running and his bolo tucked between the seat and the door, watching the street ramp. “Zack and Diego aren’t coming with us?” Alexander asked as they passed the other two partner offices without pausing.

Mia shook her head. “Zack is…he wanted to be with Seaveth today. Diego just didn’t show up this morning.” She frowned. Diego’s dedication to playing the role of a normal human was flaky, at best, despite the combined pressure Alexander and Zack tried to exert upon him. Diego had spent centuries unfettered. He was taking a longer time adjusting to Seaveth’s demands for assimilation than most. But they both knew he would be at the full assembly. Even he would not dare risk Seaveth’s wrath by missing that.

“He’ll come around,” Alexander assured her. “Diego is just…” He tried to find the right world.

“Savage,” Mia said succinctly. “I’ve heard the gossip. There’s a reason for his last name.”

She glanced up at him, a furrow between her brows but she couldn’t ask him a more direct question for they had reached the foyer and were surrounded by strangers for the ride down to the basement.

In the elevator car, Alexander was swamped by memories of the day Mia had reappeared in his life, here in New York. She swiveled her head to look up at him and smiled and he knew she was thinking the same thing. She pressed closer to him in the crowded car.

She was getting many admiring glances from others in the car, who skimmed her high heels, smart skirt and jacket, silk shirt and shoulder-blade-length hair she refused to either cut or wear up in a bun despite the weather and the hourglass figure that the suit did nothing to hide.

She’s with me, Alexander thought. At last. And he curled his hand around her hip.

The car was empty by the time they reached the last basement and they looked out cautiously. The limousine was waiting as promised. Mia swapped her briefcase over to her left hand and they stepped out, heading for the limousine.

There was a rattle of metal to their right and Alexander turned, his animal instincts flaring. Max was already leaping from the driver’s seat, his bolo in his hand.

But Mia was faster. She had the gun pulled from the holster at the small of her back and out, ready to fire, before Alexander had completed his turn.

Her reactions were faster than his.

She dropped her briefcase and threw her arm out across Alexander’s path to prevent him from moving forward. “Stop. It’s Wyatt,” she said, putting the small caliber gun away again. She ran forward into the shadowy basement and was enfolded by the dark figure there. Alexander could not make out the details but she had been able to. This had been another of her changes. Not only were her reaction times faster than his, she could see and hear better than a vampire.

And Wyatt was stronger than one. She was leading him forward now but he did not look like the strong hunter who had gone off the day before to Quebec to hunt a gargoyle. He was hunched over, an arm to his stomach. Alexander felt his heart seize. He hurried forward.

“What happened?” He and Mia between them bundled Wyatt into the limousine. “The keep, Max.”

“Aye.” Max climbed in and got the long vehicle rolling with minimum fuss, pulling out into the traffic without delay.

Alexander was grateful for the smoked windows and air-conditioning. He and Mia stretched Wyatt on the seat. “What happened?” he repeated again as he tried to pull aside Wyatt’s shirt to see his stomach.

“Demon was working with the gargoyle. The damn things are ganging up together these days.” Wyatt rolled his head back.

“Why aren’t you healing?” Mia cried.

Alexander winced and leaned over to the back of the driver’s seat. “Sorry, family business, Max.” And he hit the button for the privacy screen, which slid up behind the driver’s seat, a blacked-out window of total privacy between them and Max. It was soundproof and bulletproof.

Alexander turned back to Wyatt and looked at the long crimson gashes on Wyatt’s stomach.

Wyatt swallowed and nodded. “A mate drove me down from Ontario through the night. I had trouble convincing him not to take me to hospital in Toronto but when I didn’t die on him right away and was still talking when we hit the New York border he was starting to put it together. He was happy to get rid of me, I think. I scared the crap out of him. And he hunts demons.” He tried to laugh and it turned into a series of coughs that looked painful. He finally took a deep breath and opened his eyes. “God it’s good to see you both.”

Mia threw herself on his chest and Alexander kissed his forehead. Wyatt held Mia to him and eyed Alexander. “I’m guessing the war ain’t over, if the ass-kicking I just took is any measure. No sign of the infamous third trinity?”

He shook his head.

“Fuck.” Wyatt sighed. “The elves are going to eat Seaveth for dinner at the assembly.”

There are two male extremes in romance novels. The first is the rake, who is a ladies’ man among ladies’ men. The second is the untested virgin hero. Both are equally well received if given the right set of circumstances, but the rake is by far the most likely hero candidate. Why? When as Jane from Dear Author points out a rake in any other romance subgenre outside of historical romance is an indiscriminate immoral playboy? Surely by comparison a virgin hero is sexier! Let’s examine how:

As an author who’s been published for many years, I still get excited when a new book comes out. It’s fun to go into the bookstores and see the books there and so tempting to say “I wrote that book” when someone picks up a copy. Yes, I have done it a few times. So far, Security hasn’t hauled me out. :}

It’s even more fun now because I have these wonderful stand-out covers that grace the shelves.

I started out with the concept of rebellious witches. The best part is that it’s taken off from there.

Unlike most series, mine deals with a different heroine in every book, but I do sprinkle in the others and introduce future witches in the books. In essence, the same part is a rebellious witch with special gifts and accessories along with a hot male, but the difference is in personalities and their adventures.

Blair Fitzgerald is the main witch in Hex in High Heels, although Jazz and Stasi also appear along with sightings of Thea and Maggie who will be in the next two books. Since layers are important to a book, I’ve added sexy carpenter Jake Harrison, Blair’s Were Border collie love interest and some nasties as in Jake’s Were mother and brother who aren’t happy about the idea of Jake being involved with a witch. Let’s just say there are reasons there that are not good at all.

But Blair can’t just have furry boyfriend trouble, although that’s there in spades. Not when Fluff and Puff have decided to hang around as tattoos on Blair’s ankle, Irma’s staying in Moonstone Lake because she’s found a boyfriend who’s older than her, and some elves that Santa wouldn’t want at the North Pole.

Blair’s not just a witch, she’s a stubborn and determined witch and if anyone messes with her boyfriend she’ll go after them with spells a’blazin’ and the same if anyone thinks they can harm her town. How Blair handles it is fun and more than a bit scary, since we are talking a witch who’s gifted in revenge spells. She also shows a cheating boyfriend it’s never good to lie to his girlfriend or strange things can happen.

That’s my thing. I love to add layers to my books. One thing will lead to another then to another and eventually go back to the original incident. Even if you throw them all up into the air, they’ll come down in a strangely chaotic and fun arrangement that goes together.

I may have started out with a witch in lust over a Were Border collie, but pretty soon a lot of roadblocks were thrown Blair’s way and being the witch she was, she managed to zap them out of the way.

An excellent reason why I also love writing paranormal, because it’s so much fun to add magick to the book and what some might oddball situations.

In this sexy, funny paranormal romance by bestselling author Linda Wisdom, it’s all beautiful witch Blair Fitzpatrick can do to keep a lid on her talent for revenge spells, but things are about to get a lot more complicated…

Blair loves running her vintage shop and hanging out with witchy friends Stasi and Jazz. She’s forever had a crush on hunky carpenter Jake Harrison, whose Were nature (he’s a Border collie) makes him loyal, lovable, and fierce when need be. Just as sparks are beginning to fly, Blair is served with a big surprise when Jake’s mother shows up along with his pack leader, who threatens to make Jake heel! When the alpha does the unthinkable, Blair is pushed over the edge. No one messes with her boyfriend-to-be, even if he does shed on the furniture!

Linda Wisdom has published more than 70 novels with 13 million copies sold worldwide including traditional, paranormal, humor, action/adventure romance, and romantic suspense. Her bestselling books have been nominated for Romantic Times awards and the Romance Writers of America Rita Award. She lives with her husband in Murrieta, California.

by Loucinda McGary guest blogger and author of The Treasures of Venice

Thank you for inviting me to blog with you today. I’m excited to be promoting my newest release from Sourcebooks Casablanca, The Treasures of Venice. This book is a romantic suspense with paranormal elements and a dual storyline set in both contemporary and Renaissance Venice.

American librarian, Samantha Lewis is in Venice on what should have been her honeymoon, but she called off the wedding after learning that her fiancé cheated on her. Sitting in an outdoor café in St. Mark’s Square, she is feeling a bit sorry for herself when a handsome stranger approaches her and asked her to play along with him. On an impulse, she does and goes with him into the Doge’s Palace.

Charming Irish rogue, Keirnan Fitzgerald never met a lock he couldn’t pick. But he finds himself in Venice on a dangerous mission. His sister, a Renaissance scholar has been ruthlessly kidnapped. The ransom is the legendary Jewels of the Madonna, stolen and missing for over 500 years. Keirnan’s plans do not include becoming involved with a beautiful American tourist, but he and Samantha seem drawn to each other in an almost other-worldly way.

As the story behind the jewels original disappearance in 1485 unfolds, Samantha and Keirnan question if they are soul mates from a previous life. Or are they merely pawns in a relentless quest for a priceless treasure?

Now that you know a little about the book, I thought you might enjoy an interview with the hero, Keirnan Fitzgerald. My critique partners, friends, and thus far the readers and reviewers have been very enthusiastic about this charming Irish rogue. They’ve all expressed interest in learning a bit more about him and I thought the readers here at Love Romance Passion might like to know too. (Special thanks to my critique partners Cathy D. and Jo-Mama who helped with some of the questions.)

Loucinda McGary: Hello Keirnan, you have a somewhat unusual name. Is it a family name?

Keirnan Fitzgerald: As a matter of fact, it is. I was named for both my grandfathers, Keirnan Fitzgerald and Sean Farley. My sister was also named for our grandmothers, Kathleen Mary, so I guess you could say it’s a family tradition.

LM: In the story The Treasures of Venice, you mention being kicked by a horse as a child. Did you grow up around horses?

KF: Most everyone in County Kildare does. All the finest Irish thoroughbreds are born and raised there. My father was a trainer on one of the smaller farms.

LM: But you didn’t want to follow in his footsteps?

KF: Ah, no. I saw too much of the more unpleasant aspects of the job growing up to want to spend my life doing it.

LM: How in the world did you go from a horse farm to Venice?

KF: That would be my sister’s doing. She studied there for a semester during her early days at university, and she couldn’t get enough of the place – became a bit obsessed actually. When she moved there to do her graduate studies, I used to visit her on school holidays. Unlike her, I never wanted to live there. America was the place for me, the land of opportunity and pretty girls. First chance I got to go there, I jumped at it and I’ve lived there ever since.

LM: What is it about American women you find so appealing?

KF: Most of them have a fresh-scrubbed look about them that makes them appear to be both innocent and sexy at the same time. And most of them are incredibly direct. No doubt about where you stand. Oh, and most of them also find an Irish accent irresistible. (He gives a knowing smile.)

LM: Back to the storyline of The Treasures of Venice, what would you have done if Samantha hadn’t gone along with you? Did you have a Plan B?

KF: (chuckles) Darlin’ I didn’t even have a Plan A! I had that funny feeling on the back of my neck that I get when I’m being watched or followed. I saw a pretty girl sitting alone at a table in Piazza San Marco. I could tell by the way she was dressed that she was American. She looked familiar somehow, so I just walked up to her and took a chance.

LM: It never once occurred to you that she might say no, did it?

KF: (shuffles his feet and looks a bit sheepish) I adore the ladies, and most of ‘em adore me, so honestly, no. I didn’t think what I’d do if she refused. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about it, did I? (His blue eyes gleam and he winks.)

LM: You do have quite an adventurous streak, don’t you? So how many times have you wound up naked in some strange woman’s hotel room?

KF: Don’t ya know a gentleman never kisses and tells? And I am a gentleman.

LM: All right then, what is the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?

LM: One last question, certain people in The Treasures of Venice believe you and Samantha were soul-mates from a previous life. Do you believe you that?

KF: If you had asked me that before I met Samantha, I’d have told you it was all a pile of rubbish. I still think perhaps it might be. But I do believe in true love, and when you meet the one for you, you will know it.

LM: On that lovely note, we’ll end our interview. But if you have any questions for Keirnan, please ask away! Oh, and if you have any questions for me, his creator, I’ll be happy to answer those too.

About the Author

Loucinda McGary took early retirement from her managerial career to pursue her twin passions of travel and writing, and sets her novels of romantic suspense in the fascinating places she has visited. She was a finalist in the 2006 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart contest in Romantic Suspense. She lives in Sacramento, CA. For more information, please visit http://loucindamcgary.com/.

Hi and thank you so much for having me today as a guest blogger here on the Love Romance Passion blog! I’m thrilled to have this chance to tell you a little about my upcoming release from Sourcebooks, HEALING LUKE.

The idea for HEALING LUKE came to me following a family vacation in Destin, Florida. I fell in love with Destin, with snorkeling, and as soon as the Morgan men appeared from the misty realm of my mind, I fell in love with them, too. All of them, not just Luke.

And I must say, I love Abby, too. She was an interesting character to write, largely because she didn’t want to be the character I originally intended her to be! She had a mind of her own, and with all her sass and stubbornness in place, she told me who she was and how I was to write her.

I’d intended her to be a sweet, innocent, heart-broken thing. A girl-next-door type. A dewy-eyed darling who was bowled over by the Morgan men and had her world totally turned upside down by these hunky men. Abby would have nothing of it!

Right from the beginning she hijacked my telling of the story and told me flat out she was not going to be the docile creature I’d imagined. She had spunk and guts and a strong will. She’d grown up with two bully brothers and knew how to hold her own with the Morgan men, thank you very much.

Know what? She was right! Her character proved far more interesting, more fun to write and a better match for Luke the way she wanted to be written.

That’s not to say Abby didn’t have her vulnerabilities and heartaches, but gone was the docile, well-mannered innocent I’d first envisioned. And it’s a good thing, too, because Luke needed a good strong kick in the pants early in the story and someone with Abby’s faith and determination to find the heart of gold he’d buried under his pain.

Here’s an excerpt from an early chapter of HEALING LUKE to whet your appetite. Abby is at dinner with Luke and his family (father Bart and brother Aaron), supposedly to discuss the terms of her coming to work for them. In truth, Abby has pre-arranged with Bart and Aaron to work for the family under the guise of a business consultant when, in fact, she is there to counsel Luke and assist him with his physical therapy (which he refuses to do). Let the fireworks begin!

“Bart says you’re some kind of consultant.”

Her gaze darted up from her plate to meet his. She drew her small frame erect and took a deep breath as she returned his stare with a composure that contradicted her previous signs of unease.

“He says he wants to hire you to work for us.”

Abby hesitated, and Bart jumped in to fill the brief silence.

“That’s right. I thought she could stay in the extra bedroom, help out in the office, give us pointers on where to improve customer relations.” Bart sounded overly enthusiastic and uncertain at the same time. He gave a nod toward Abby and glanced at Aaron.

“Sounds good to me. Especially the part where she moves in with us.” Aaron wiggled his eyebrows at Abby, and she sputtered.

“I… I, uh, don’t remember that being part of the arrangement.” She sent Bart a hard gaze under a furrowed brow.

Luke followed the unfolding events with interest. He smelled a rat.

“But surely you agree that having you live on the premises with us makes sense. I could include room and board in your salary.”

“It’s just… I—”

“I think you could get a better understanding of… our situation, if you’re living here.”

Luke tried to read between the lines of Bart’s carefully chosen words while keeping a watchful eye on Abby’s apparent reluctance.

“I can see your point, Bart, but I—”

“I agree with Bart. I like the idea,” Aaron interrupted, nodding with enthusiasm. “So you’ve said,” Luke groused. “Personally, I think the idea sucks.” He pinned another hostile gaze on Abby. “Bart built this business without any damn consultant. He knows more about money and finances than most of the people on Wall Street. And while Aaron may be clueless when it comes to running the office—”

His brother’s head snapped up, and he grunted in protest.

“—he can fix anything with an engine and can have customers eating from his hand. As you know.”

Her sea-green eyes flashed her affront at his implied insult, and she squared her shoulders.

Luke cast a meaningful glance at his father before continuing. “I may have lost my eye and my thumb, but I still have a brain. We don’t need any damn consultant.”

Abby sent Aaron an anxious look. A stab of petty envy prompted Luke to add, “Despite what my brother may have promised you under the sheets last night.”

“Hey!” Aaron barked.

“Luke—” Bart started, his tone grave.

Abby raised a hand to cut his father off. In the tense silence that followed, Abby set her fork down and narrowed a challenging gaze on him. “You’re probably right. The business has obviously thrived without outside help before now. It’s quite possible that I’ll have nothing new to offer. Nothing is settled. We’re merely exploring alternatives right now.”

She propped her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “And I spent last night under my own sheets, thank you, though I find your interest in where I slept very… interesting.” Her lips curved in a sassy smile, as if she thought she’d bested him at his own game.

He mirrored her posture, bracing his arms on the table and leaning toward her. “I don’t give a rat’s ass where you slept or who you’re giving it to. Just stay away from me and my family’s business, and take your cocky attitude somewhere else.”

He turned a scathing look on his brother. “I don’t need her help or anyone else’s.”

Aaron gave him a dirty look, a muscle in his jaw twitching, but he turned away without replying.

His brother’s lack of response irked Luke.

A month ago, Aaron gave as good as he got. Now his brother walked on eggshells around him. Frustration wrenched Luke’s gut.

“All right,” Bart said evenly. “We have one vote against and two in favor. It looks like the decision is now yours, Miss Stanford. If you’re willing to accept the terms laid out earlier, the position is yours.”

Luke turned toward his father, anger roiling inside him. “Wait a minute! My ‘no’ vote should count for something! We don’t need any damn consultant.” He aimed a finger and a narrow gaze on Bart. “You can’t do this without me.”

I have to say, writing the banter between the Morgan men (and Abby got in her share of one-liners…) was a blast, my favorite part of writing this book! Each of the Morgans had a distinct voice in my head (yes, I know that hearing voices makes me sound a little crazy!) to match their personality and their position in the family. They burst on the scene so clearly defined in my mind that I even knew what they ate for breakfast. (Aaron likes Froot Loops while Luke’s more of a cold pizza guy. When Bart makes the coffee, you never know what you’ll get, but it is usually way too strong. He dumps the coffee grinds rather than measuring.) The Morgan family quickly found a special place in my heart, as they did Abby’s… and, I hope, yours too!

So what qualities about a character— any character, hero or heroine, protagonist or secondary— tends to make them resonate with you the most?

Feeling OOL (Out of the Loop)? Wondering why you feel absolutely clueless. Hop into my bandwagon and blog like a pro. BTW (By the Way) I thought of #13 and #16. Here are the ones I consider the top 25. If you think of any others, feel free to post a comment. The bandwagon’s plenty big and roomy.

LRP (Love Romance Passion) Of course.

PDF (Portable Document Format) What I ask for when I win an e-book from Kimber Chin or J L Wilson.